Ex-Alabama Governor freed from prison by court of appeals
Via the Birmingham News, Siegelman will be out tomorrow morning while his appeal continues:
Siegelman has been in an Oakdale, La., prison camp for nearly nine months. A federal jury in 2006 convicted Siegelman and Scrushy of federal funds bribery. Prosecutors alleged Scrushy bought a seat on a state board with a $500,000 donation to Siegelman’s lottery campaign.
The judges wrote that Siegelman met both requirements for an appeal bond: He is not a flight risk and his appeal raises a substantial question of law or fact likely to result in reversal or an order for a new trial.
“After thorough review of this complex and protracted record, we conclude Siegelman has satisfied the criteria set out in the statute, and has specifically met his burden of showing that his appeal raises substantial questions of law or fact,” the judges wrote.
The court did not elaborate on what those questions were. Siegelman’s lawyers, among other issues, have argued prosecutors didn’t prove that Siegelman and
This is the questionable partisan conviction led by the politicized Bush Justice Department that will blow the selective prosecution charge into broad public view. The governor was sent to jail with a notable lack of evidence and undoing his railroading will drive Bush’s favorable ratings to the subzeroes.
